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SOTF Combat
SOTF Combat is a very popular fighting game series in the world of SOTF-TV, the first entry having been released in March 2009 in the lead up to Season 10. Since then, the game has had four sequels, with the most recent one being SOTF Combat V, released on the series 10th anniversary. It is an arcade style, 1v1 fighting game noted for being a sort of combination of the Tekken and Guilty Gear series, with fast-paced and frenetic fights set on destructible 3D environments, usually based off of iconic SotF-TV locations. It primarily stars iconic winners and contestants from the show, although the primary roster of these games has not been consistent between releases. Following a loose story of these contestants being gathered together to determine once and for all who the 'mightiest champion' is, the series is known for its vibrant graphics, for the aforementioned destructible 3D environments, and for the inventive array of fighting styles the contestants produce—reputation and in game actions factoring into special moves and with some contestants developing superpowered abilities in mind with this. In addition, the series is known for its mechanics of “Killshots,” special moves that although hard to perform—only being able to be used at match point and due to them not typically being able to be comboed into—to the point that they’re nearly impossible to do in any sort of competitive play, are incredibly rewarding, resulting in the opposing player being killed in a way appealing to fans of the characters or to fans of gory action. The series enjoys a very popular and widespread esports scene, reaching professional status with its second game and its third game allowing the series to become one of the main attractions at EVO, alongside Super Smash Bros. and the Street Fighter series. Championships for the game are also held at other events, with the game often appearing at invitationals for Champions and official tournaments often being held during the lead up for each season. Currently, SOTF Combat V utilizes a seasonal format, where since its release in late 2018 has had surges in which new characters were periodically released. Although the game has a fairly large starting roster to begin with, the characters released in each season are not initially available and must be bought with in-game currency or real world money. In regards to roster, praise has been given for game balance (with frequent patches meaning that although there is a very clear top and bottom tier, almost every character is viable competitively), but the game and series as a whole has been criticised for its exclusive focus on winners and survivors, with there being very few characters in the game not of that archetype—only two in the original roster, and with two more only having been released in subsequent seasons. Currently, the game is in the early stages of its third season, with the first two characters having been released for it during January and early February 2021. SOTF Combat V Roster Initial Roster: * Archibald “Archie” “Zombie” Stewart (Season Thirty-Eight) — The largest member of the cast by far, Archie is a character who can both dish out and take incredible amounts of damage at the expense of mobility and range. Functioning as a grappler, Archie is seen as one of the worst characters in the game by competitive players, as although he can dish out a lot of damage with his command grabs if he manages to close the gap, he barely has any options of doing so, to the point that he can be easily kept away by anyone who has ranged moves. However, this endears him to the community at large, and he is often cheered at tournaments when he is chosen—either because the player wants to mess around or due to him being a viable option against the character he is opposing. Due to his real life counterpart being uncooperative in regards to voice acting, all his dialogue in the game is a grunt of some kind. ** Abilities *** Super 1: Ultimate Chokeslam — Upon activation of this super, Archie begins to charge at the enemy—gaining three hits worth of super armour—before grabbing them by the neck and slamming them into the ground. It is well regarded for its damage and for also giving Archie an actual method of approach, the three hits of super armour being more than most other characters can do in that time frame resulting in him being right next to the opponent, even if they manage to avoid the attack *** Super 2: Zombification — This super is not activated by the player. Instead, it automatically activates if Archie is knocked out at the end of a round. When this happens, his opponent goes through their victory animation before lightning strikes Archie’s body, bringing him back to anywhere between 1 or 50% health depending on how much super bar he had at the time of his first knockout. *** Killshot: Undefeatable — Upon activation of this attack, Archie begins to slowly walk towards his enemy. If he is hit, he is knocked out of the attack and the fight continues as normal, but if he manages to reach his opponent, they will be grabbed, and the cinematic will begin. The opponent will be lifted up into the air, with Archie choking them as he brings out a spear from his body and stabs the opponent through with it, slamming them into the ground before stomping their head into a pulp. ** Alt Costumes *** Fanservice Costume — The default alt costume that Archie comes with—based off of his fanservice costume in season 38—is that of a Mexican Luchador, with him wearing a black mask, a champion belt, and black tights with no upper body clothing. *** Animal Pack Costume — The Animal Pack DLC, released at the beginning of Season 2, gave each character a new costume based on an animal. In Archie’s case, he was given the likeness of a grizzly bear - although the mask for this costume does not cover his face. *** Halloween Pack Costume — The Halloween Pack—free DLC released on the 31st of October, 2020—gave a few characters new costumes themed on famous monsters or urban legends. In Archie’s case, his costume for the Halloween Pack puts him in the likeness of Jason from the Friday the 13th films, giving him the classic hockey mask and outfit while replacing the spear in his Killshot with a machete. Introduced During The First Season of DLC * Ryan Butler (Season Seventeen) — One of the more defensively oriented members of the cast, Ryan is a character who—although he doesn’t have as much natural combo opportunity as his brethren have—primarily utilises high damage counterattacks and punishes, using his opponent's moves against them and dealing major damage for any mistakes they make. Functioning as a charge character, Ryan is seen by the community as a risk/reward pick, as although his punishes are seen as the best in the game he lacks many straight offensive options, and tends to lose out to other defensively focused characters. In addition, he is also well-liked for having some of the best voice lines in the game, many of his lines to other characters being meta and sardonic references to what they did on their season, keeping with his image of an avowed super-fan of the show. ** Abilities *** Super 1: “Made you look.” — Ryan, upon releasing this move, instantly teleports behind his opponent and unloads his gun into them. Although this attack can be fairly easily guarded, the instant nature of this attack means that if the opponent is in some way unable to guard at the present moment they will take a high amount of damage. *** Super 2: “*ding!*” — Upon activating this super, Ryan has a short cinematic where he moves into a stance with his knife unsheathed. If he is attacked during the ten frame time period following this animation, he counterattacks, stopping the move before stabbing the opponent through the side of the neck with his knife, letting their body drop to the ground before he unloads his gun on them. It is one of the highest damage supers in the game, but due to the short time period in which the super is active it is considered near-impossible to perform. *** Killshot: “Gotcha.” — If Ryan is at 20% HP or under—in addition to the other Killshot requirements—he may utilize an attack where he puts down his weapons and begins walking off the stage. If he is attacked after the point where he starts walking away, he shows an animation as if he has been KO’d, and the opponent enters their victory animation. At this point, however, the stage changes to the cafe that season 17 ended in, and the cinematic begins, the camera panning to show that Ryan giving a one-liner to his opponent as he fires at and kills them. ** Alt Costumes *** Fanservice Costume — Although Ryan’s season predates fanservice costumes, the default alt costume he comes with provides him with one, dressing him up in a fairly traditional cowboy outfit, stetson and all. Alt lines also came with this costume, recorded by Butler himself attempting a stereotypical cowboy voice. *** Animal Pack Costume — The Animal Pack DLC, released at the beginning of Season 2, gave each character a new costume based on an animal. In Ryan’s case, he was given a costume to the likeness of a vulture. No new lines were recorded for this costume.